- Joined
- Dec 7, 2008
- Messages
- 7,187
I need some input from you guys whether to cut this slab up into knife handle and guitar wood. Or should I keep it as a whole slab.
Just to give a little background.
For the last few days a lady who lives about 50 miles away from our shop had been calling us wanting to sell 2 slabs of redwood burl she had stored in her garage. When she told my boss how much she wanted for them, he told her that was too much. It was sounding like she wanted about 3 or 4 times the retail value. He said it would probably be best to try to sell the burl herself in the newspaper, or if she could bring it by here we would look at the wood and make an offer. That was a couple days ago.
This morning she called several times trying to get a hold of my boss. She said if we could just see the burl she was sure we would want to buy it. When I went by the office to get some coffee my boss pulled me aside and said that the only way we were going to get this lady to stop calling would be to drive out and look at the burl. I agreed so we got the truck and drove to her house. The slabs were pretty big and in a dark corner of the garage. I asked if it was ok for me to bring one of the slabs out into the light. She said sure if you can lift it.
Based on the size, about 2&1/2 foot by 5&1/2 foot, I thought no problem. Shouldn't weigh more than 60 or 70 pounds. When I went to lift it I almost killed myself. The smallest slab weighed over 200 pounds. I asked her when and where did you get this wood. She answered that here grandfather was a timber faller back in the 40's. He cut and kept these slabs for himself because he thought they were some real nice pieces. After he passed away they had been stored away in the garage taking up much needed space.
Slab photo dry sanded at 60 grit
When I got this into the light I found that is some of the best redwood burl that you rarely ever see and never in pieces this large. This type of redwood weighs way, way more than regular redwood. As for hardness I would not be exaggerating if I said it was almost as hard as ironwood. The background color is a vivid orange with almost black eyes. This is not the pitchy redwood that clogs up your sandpaper. Sanding this is more like sanding super hard plastic. The photos below show the slab with a quick 60 grit belt sanding. This is super hard stuff that will polish up beautifully.
Closeup photo dry 60 grit
Closeup photo dampened 60 grit
Here is where I need help from you guys.
My boss feels that with a few phone calls to some of his regular customers he could sell it whole for about $800 to $900.
I want to cut it into knife handle blocks and guitar billets. The knife handle blocks would sell for $20 to $30 each and a guitar billet (20x10x2") would sell for around $300 each.
I figured that this way some of you guys could get some of a very hard to get type of burl for your knives and my boss would earn at least 30% more by having me cut this slab up.
My boss said that if enough of you guys were interested he would let me cut this up. If you want to get some of this, please post what you think you would want, example 4 blocks, 3 sets of scales or a 10x20 billet. This does not obligate you but please don't post something other than what you think you would be able to get. If enough of you want some of this I can go to my boss and tell him how many of you want some. Once he gives his OK I will cut and photograph the individual pieces and post them in the supplies section for sale. That way you can pick out which pieces you like best.
Just to give a little background.
For the last few days a lady who lives about 50 miles away from our shop had been calling us wanting to sell 2 slabs of redwood burl she had stored in her garage. When she told my boss how much she wanted for them, he told her that was too much. It was sounding like she wanted about 3 or 4 times the retail value. He said it would probably be best to try to sell the burl herself in the newspaper, or if she could bring it by here we would look at the wood and make an offer. That was a couple days ago.
This morning she called several times trying to get a hold of my boss. She said if we could just see the burl she was sure we would want to buy it. When I went by the office to get some coffee my boss pulled me aside and said that the only way we were going to get this lady to stop calling would be to drive out and look at the burl. I agreed so we got the truck and drove to her house. The slabs were pretty big and in a dark corner of the garage. I asked if it was ok for me to bring one of the slabs out into the light. She said sure if you can lift it.
Based on the size, about 2&1/2 foot by 5&1/2 foot, I thought no problem. Shouldn't weigh more than 60 or 70 pounds. When I went to lift it I almost killed myself. The smallest slab weighed over 200 pounds. I asked her when and where did you get this wood. She answered that here grandfather was a timber faller back in the 40's. He cut and kept these slabs for himself because he thought they were some real nice pieces. After he passed away they had been stored away in the garage taking up much needed space.
Slab photo dry sanded at 60 grit
When I got this into the light I found that is some of the best redwood burl that you rarely ever see and never in pieces this large. This type of redwood weighs way, way more than regular redwood. As for hardness I would not be exaggerating if I said it was almost as hard as ironwood. The background color is a vivid orange with almost black eyes. This is not the pitchy redwood that clogs up your sandpaper. Sanding this is more like sanding super hard plastic. The photos below show the slab with a quick 60 grit belt sanding. This is super hard stuff that will polish up beautifully.
Closeup photo dry 60 grit
Closeup photo dampened 60 grit
Here is where I need help from you guys.
My boss feels that with a few phone calls to some of his regular customers he could sell it whole for about $800 to $900.
I want to cut it into knife handle blocks and guitar billets. The knife handle blocks would sell for $20 to $30 each and a guitar billet (20x10x2") would sell for around $300 each.
I figured that this way some of you guys could get some of a very hard to get type of burl for your knives and my boss would earn at least 30% more by having me cut this slab up.
My boss said that if enough of you guys were interested he would let me cut this up. If you want to get some of this, please post what you think you would want, example 4 blocks, 3 sets of scales or a 10x20 billet. This does not obligate you but please don't post something other than what you think you would be able to get. If enough of you want some of this I can go to my boss and tell him how many of you want some. Once he gives his OK I will cut and photograph the individual pieces and post them in the supplies section for sale. That way you can pick out which pieces you like best.
:thumbup:
